Migrants stand by a camp fire near a bus outside a temporary facility in the village of Limedsforsen in the Swedish province of Dalarna, October 29, 2015. (Reuters)
Stockholm, Sweden:
Sweden will apply for emergency aid from the European Union to deal with record numbers of asylum seekers, the government said today.
"The situation is very, very strained," Employment Minister Ylva Johansson told reporters. "We have decided to instruct the Swedish Migration Agency to apply for EU funding, emergency assistance, from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund."
The Migration Agency forecasts up to 190,000 asylum seekers will arrive in Sweden this year, double the previous record from the early 1990s.
The government has also applied to the European Commission to arrange for some of those to be moved to other EU countries.
Also today, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said refugees and migrants are likely to continue to arrive in Europe at a rate of up to 5,000 per day via Turkey this winter.
More than 760,000 people have already crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, mainly to Greece and Italy, after fleeing wars in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as conflicts in Eritrea and other parts of Africa, it said.
The agency is seeking an additional $96.15 million to support Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia and the former Republic of Macedonia, bringing the total amount that it is trying to raise for Europe's refugee crisis to $172.7 million.
"The situation is very, very strained," Employment Minister Ylva Johansson told reporters. "We have decided to instruct the Swedish Migration Agency to apply for EU funding, emergency assistance, from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund."
The Migration Agency forecasts up to 190,000 asylum seekers will arrive in Sweden this year, double the previous record from the early 1990s.
The government has also applied to the European Commission to arrange for some of those to be moved to other EU countries.
Also today, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said refugees and migrants are likely to continue to arrive in Europe at a rate of up to 5,000 per day via Turkey this winter.
More than 760,000 people have already crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, mainly to Greece and Italy, after fleeing wars in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as conflicts in Eritrea and other parts of Africa, it said.
The agency is seeking an additional $96.15 million to support Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia and the former Republic of Macedonia, bringing the total amount that it is trying to raise for Europe's refugee crisis to $172.7 million.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
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